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Sabaydii,
I guess I need to tell you how I came to live in Vientiane. Yes, this time it was in Bane Sisavath or Nahaidieow, only one or two miles from downtown Vientiane. At that time, the later part of 1971, my family was still living in Thadeua. Yes, you might have known why I was here in this big city. I was going to Lycee de Vientiane - a number one high school in the country which was more than a high school in itself. They said that if you went to this coveted Lycee de Vientiane, you were the envy of everyone not going to that school. Before I go deep into this, let me tell you how I became one of its students. First, since I was over thirteen - the cut age for going to sixieme (7th grade), my dad took me to change the birth certificate from the year of birth 1957 to 1959 - the hardest thing for an honest man to do. I guess what made him do so was because he treasured education. He strongly believed that, without a quality education, I wouldn't have made it the way he did. I think he was right. Besides, an age limit is kind of a silly thing given the pyramid structure of the Lao educational system at that time. One needed not only to be the book-smart but to have pure as well to get in. I remember one case very well. While back in Thakek, I had one friend who was ranked in the top five of the class every month. Being so in the top private school signified only one thing: a guaranteed spot in College de Thakek (comparable to the middle school in the U.S.). either he was choked by the pressure of the exam or not, he flunked the entrance exam badly. For me, I flunked the first time not because I was choked badly (I was the one who could have made it if luck was on my side. After all, I was just an average student in the top private school) but because I slept with my Khatha JaiPong (magic formula to do well in school) instead of using it. For those who don't know what is this magic formula, I will take the liberty to elaborate it here. KhaThaJaiPong is Su, Ji, Pu and Li. Su means listening attentively, of course. Ji means thinking about what you just listened or heard. Pu means asking questions when you don't understand something. And finally, Li means writing down what you just got it. As you can see, this is a fabulous magic formula. That means if we are not that dumb to start with (none of us is), we all could do exceptionally well in school. You know what I did in Thakek? I wrote this magic formula down on a piece of paper and then put it under my pillow hoping that it would somehow turn me into a smart student. I guess I don't have to tell that it did me no good doing that way at all.
Getting back to Lycee de Vientiane, I found that my second entrance exam was much easier than the first one. Maybe, because the test was in the Lao language to a greater extent for the firs time (I am not so sure at this point) or because the test was mostly in the format of multiple choice questions or even because I knew what to expect (not so with the multiple choice questions and the predominant use of the Lao language but the experience of taking a test). If I am not mistaken, this multiple choice format and the predominant use of the Lao language was the result of the American influence in Laos. At that time, the American had built FaNgum school which was intended to be a high school comparable to Lycee de Vientiane. To make the Lao education more standard, the American must have forced the government to standardize the high school entrance test. One thing that I found worth mentioning about the American influence was the interjection of the propaganda right into the making of the test. For example: there was an analogy to be filled in the blank that goes like this: Maa (dog) Kup (with) Meow (cat)...
And the right answer to be filled in was: Keeo (Vietnamese) Kup (with) Lao.
On a personal note, my another sister, Euay KongJai, gave me a big boost on the day of the test. She yelled 'Go, Keo!' while driving a motorcycle past Lycee de Vientiane on the way to her work at the post office. As you might know, Lycee de Vientiane lied on the grand LanXang avenue of which one end stayed the post office, the morning market, and PhaRatSaVang (the palace. Now, it becomes the presidential residence). On another end, it had USIS (the U.S. information service) library, the veteran monument (now, it is LanXang monument) and, of course, Lycee de Vientiane. At that time, I was either loitering in front of the Lycee or about to go past the Lycee gate. What I know for sure was that this kind of encouragement did carry a long way. Even today, the image of her waving and shouting wildly is still imprinted beautifully in my mind. After all said and done, there is nothing more precious than a token of love from your family.
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 2
Sabaydii,
First, let me tell you about Bane Sisavath, Koum Nahaidiew - the place where I lived for a decade from 1971 to 1981. This village, if I may say so, was where the notorious and all-powerful USAID was located. Though within a walking distance from my house, this USAID compound was out of reach to me and to most Lao. Generally, I didn't want to pass by this place for what I could see was only the four walls that acted like a separator dividing us and them. Moreover, given the proximity of the place to my school - Lycee de Vientiane, I came to find it more and more mysterious and even menacing. Apart from the grim-looking walls with wires on top, if I was not mistaken, guards with rifles were posted at every gate. Strange as it may be, no one had ever mentioned anything about this compound the whole time I studied at the Lycee while the old regime still existed. The teachers didn't talk about it and neither the students. In another word, this USAID was like a surreal thing. It was there and, at the same time, not there in a way. What I know about USAID came from the post 1975 events. Of course, it was more of a bad thing than a good thing since the info was derived from the post 1975 regime itself. Judging from the secretive nature and obvious significance of the place, I found the info worth listening to. First, it was said that this USAID compound was the seat of the shadow government where the real power resided. Here, given that a big chunk of the government expenditure came from the U.S. pocket, it gave some weight to that kind of claim. After all, the one who propped you up had the rights to pull the string. That was reasonable enough. Second, the place was more heavily guarded than any of the government building itself. If it weren't that important, ordinary people wouldn't have a hard time getting in and out. Not once, I was chased away for getting so close to the gate. After all, I just wanted to take a peek of what was inside. That was all. Besides, since no one had ever mentioned about this place even it was right under their noses (Lycee case) told me that this was not an ordinary place that you could wander around. And lastly, this USAID compound was like a self-sufficient town in itself - not to mention that it was a well-fortified fort able to resist any armed attack. As I remember, this place was stocked with any necessity in life from food to medicine and from the amenity of good life to the stock of firearms. Even from outside, I knew that the USAID compound had its own power supply. The constant smoke from the furnace at one end of the compound made me wonder what they were doing in there. Suffice it to say that the USAID compound was such an oddity in Khum Nahaideow where rice fields, stilt houses and temples painted the landscape. If only this USAID thing was located next to Soun Luk Hok (Compound Kilometer 6) - the residence of the American diplomats, maybe I wouldn't have much to talk about it. After all, Soun Luk Hok was considered an American town, though on a tiny scale but, most importantly, it would be completely out of my sight.
Enough about the USAID compound, now I will talk about the temples - the spiritual center of Bane Sisavath. Though not of a great size, Bane Sisavath could boast of three temples. Of those, one was and still is the pride of the village. Yes, I am talking about Wat DongMieng which, at one time or another, Pha SangGaRath (the head of Lao Buddhist monks) came to reside in. I would say that, by that fact alone, Wat DongMieng was comparable to the many famous temples in Vientiane like Wat PhaKeo, Wat Sisaket, Wat SiMeuang and Wat OngTu. I will have more to say about those temples in my later installment. What made Wat DongMieng rank among the elite of Vientiane temples was its beautiful Sim (the place where the prayer is recited. Also, it is the place where all important events are held such as the ordainment to be a monk.) Apart from the highly decorative Sim, Wat DongMieng wasn't much of a difference from the other temples except one more thing. This temple had TouaJoutSop (the furnace where you burn the corpse). It was at this place that my brother-in-law, Ai Kinh, was burnt. Ai Kinh was Euay KongJai's first husband whose T-28 plane was crashed at Udone on the way back to Vientiane. Since Wat DongMieng was less than five minutes walk from my house, I liked to frequent this place. First of all, I like to make it clear that I went to this temple because I was a devout Buddhist. Instead, I hardly TakBath (give alms to the monks) by my own initiative. Whenever someone caught me TakBath, it meant only one thing: my parents dragged me there. Wat DongMieng was special in the sense that I eagerly went there not for TakBath but for the movie showing. It was almost a custom that whenever there was a corpse burning, it was a sign that a free movie showing would be there. Still, it would be an exaggeration to say that it was a movie like the one we are used at the movie theater. In fact, most of the movie showing at Wat DongMieng or at any temples was just a black and white newsreel produced by the USIS (U.S. Information Service). The most you could get was an old American movie either Cowboy movies or Tui/Joi (skinny/fatty) comedy. With the hope of seeing a 'real' movie once in a while, I hardly missed the movie showing at Wat DongMieng. In fact, I even prayed that there were many more corpses burning at the temple. Anyway, watching the movie at the temple ground on this special occasion came at a price too. Not a few times, the foul smell pervaded the temple that I had to constantly close my nose. At times, the sight of the hot charcoal burning in the furnace interplay with the flickering light from the movie projector. What a weird thing to witness especially when the cold crept in and the midnight was fast approaching.
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 3
Sabaydii,
Today, I will talk about the other two temples of Bane Sisavath: Wat Nahaidieow and Wat Sibounheuang. The former was the biggest of the three in terms of square feet. Since this temple was on my way to Lycee de Vientiane, I came to know more of it than the other two. Besides the Sim and the monks' dwelling place, this temple also housed a big Sala (a place where the villagers and passers-by can rest or even stay overnight). The monks also used this place to give sermon to a large audience. It was here that I learned about Phavet SunhDon, Nang Mutthie, Kanha, Sali and Pham Susok. I would say that almost all of the audience had the gray hair and was disproportionately of women (MaeTu). I, myself, hardly came to the temple for any kind of preaching but since there wasn't much going on in my area, any kind of Boun - preaching or not was fine to me. Yes, a repeated teaching - though small at a time, did add up whether I intended or not to the lasting memory in me. Still, I wouldn't say that I am more like Phavet now than twenty years or so. After all, Phavet was so unreal that it read like a fantasy story. Frankly speaking, in my life, I had never met anybody who came close to his bigger-than-life feat. For those who don't know about the story, Phavet was the one who gave his two kids to Pham Susok. He would even gave his own wife, Nang Mutthie, to that guy too if the latter had asked for her. In another word, Phavet story is the ultimate act of giving. It is said it is the last life before Phavet can become a Buddha in the next life. I don't even remember how many lives the man who would ultimately becomes a Buddha has to go through. Some books say ten. That's why we call 'PhaChao SipXat' (the ten lives of Buddha). By the way, each life of Buddha (to be exact, the Buddha-to-be) has its own name. I remember that one of the tens is PhaChao TehMeh (the one who is very patient. Also, there is a saying that compares those that nothing can affect him or her as if nothing happens as Pha TehMeh). Whatever the number may be, each one is incredible by itself. I am glad that the many lives of Buddha fell on my ears especially the one on Phavet for, like it or not, they become a part of me though small it may be but it is there. And that makes all the difference in my life!
Also, at Wat Nahaidiew, it seems that all the Boun in that section of the city was held there. Funny as it may be, all the Boun I remember at that temple apart from Phavet story was from the post 1975 regime and they all had a little band playing AiNong songs and a variety of Lum namely Lum TungVai, Lum KhoneSavan, Lum Kiew and KhubNgum just to name a few. For all of these Lum, they used a modern musical instrument like a guitar, an organ player and a drum - not the one hit by a bare hand but with a stick. Though expedient, this kind of Lum playing was not aesthetically pleasing to the ears at all. It was like eating Larb with a steamed rice. The young didn't like this kind of music though some might stop by and listen to the upbeat rhythm of Lum Tanvai before they too took off. The old didn't like it either for it wasn't accompanied by Khene and, most of all, those who sang this kind of Lum were all amateurs who might just learned to Lum because it was such a hip thing to do during the initial stage of the revolution. For those who don't know, Lum is a traditional art of singing that requires years of training and rote memorization. In another word, to be good at Lum, one must know tens of stories (if not hundreds) by heart. Among those are Phavet, Sinxay, Nang TunhTai, Jampa SiTonh, so on and so on. At that time, I wasn't much into Lum at all. Still, I was very fascinated by the flow of the singing and the charming sound of Khene. This realization happened to me when I had a chance to witness Lum Sithandone at HeuaneDii (funeral reception) right before the change of regime. I guess the person who held the funeral must be very wealthy. Not only that he had a Lum showing (both Lum Leuang - the kind of Lum that told a story and Lum Kiew - the kind of Lum that featured the courting of male-female couple) but a movie showing as well. I, myself, watched all three events. I started with the movie showing and then went on to Lum Leuang. Finally, I finished my sight and sound delight with Lum Kiew until the first light of dawn parted us. I would say that Lum Kiew captivated me otherwise I would go for a much needed sleep. Being a young man, hormone (or whatever it may be) tended to rush high so every word that Moh Lum sang (mostly obscene and sex related) kept me waiting for more. Frankly speaking, I didn't even realize that hours and hours had passed by. To say the least, these MohLum must have been a genius churning out words after words - sort of a magic in itself. To keep the Lum Kiew going at high speed, the wealthy audience fed the MohLum especially the female one with a large cash every now and then. I would say that the cash feeding came whenever the sex related words were spelled out. First, there would be a wild uproar (the one that gave you satisfaction) followed by a gesture calling out for MohLum to approach the audience. If it was for the female MohLum which was usually the case, the audience (male of course) would tug the money right into the MohLum's blouse (I think it must be in the bra). Since the uproar usually followed by the money handling out, MohLum would take an initial step to approach the audience. And they were right most of the time. To me, if anyone wants to know about the nature of Quon Lao, he or she should spend time listening to Lum. The sound of the Khene and the voice of MohLum will take you to the heart of Lao-ness which words, powerful as they may be, can not go deep enough to reveal that secret.
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 4
Sabaydii,
Wat Sibounheuang was not far from my house either. In fact, all the three temples I had mentioned was within ten minutes walk. I would say that, apart from Bane Mixay on Samsenethai road which has over half a dozen temples, Bane Sisavath could boast of the many temples in Vientiane. For those who don't know, the Samsenethai road connecting to Sikhai road houses Wat Inpaeng, Wat OngTeu, Wat Chanh, Wat HaiSok, Wat Mixai, Wat SiengNyeun, Wat Phakeo, Wat Sisaket and Wat Simuang. All of them are within ten minutes waling distance, and a majority of them are adjacent to one another. At one point, three to four temples stood side by side. There is a saying that one can go TakBath in nine temples in one single morning. It is in this area that the saying refers to. Also, it was said that, altogether, Vientiane had over one hundred and forty temples. That was a lot. By this fact alone, it tells you that Muang Lao especially Vientiane is really a land of temples. I will have more to say about the particular temple namely the well-known ones in the later installment.
Getting back to Wat Sibounheuang, I rarely went to this temple. It wasn't that it looked bad but it was out of the way I went to school. Moreover, I hardly traveled that way at all. Situated next to ThongSangNang where a big tract of empty land was, I didn't feel compelled to pass by for any reasons. Besides, the road that connected to Wat Sibounheuang was not paved (this road also passed my house) therefore breathing in the dust whenever a car passed by wasn't my favorite thing to do at all. Since I have already mentioned my house, I had better talked about it. It was built in the land my grandpa inherited from his parents. Since the family members divided the land between themselves, each one's land got intertwined with one another. At first, it might be of an equal size to each one, then one or two might have sold their lot to their sibling. With time, the land of youngest daughter (I guess it is the favorite of the parents) was two to three times bigger than any of the family members who were still living there (four of them altogether). Strange as it may be, the land of my grandpa who was the eldest son was tugged within the land of his two siblings - very much like a sandwich. There was only a narrow lane from the main road that allowed us to get to the house. It was good in a way that we didn't have to get the blunt of absorbing the flying dust so blatantly. Besides, the tract of land next to the lane was left vacant so our house was in a way unhidden. Then, things have changed greatly with the opening of the country in the late eighties. A new concrete building with four stories high was built in the vacant spot. This place was sort of used as an apartment. With that being in place, it completely blocked my house from the street view. I, myself, was even lost when coming to visit it again in 1998. I am glad that I didn't have to witness this monstrosity back while I was still living there.
My house was of a two stories high with the first story laid in concrete. The second story had three bedrooms while the first story had only one. Also, attached to the main house was a Granny which became my bedroom. I would say that I liked this bedroom a lot. In a way, it was like I had a house by myself since it had a separate entry to the main house and it was big enough to contain all of my books. Yes, you can say that I was and still am a bookworm. I liked to collect books and was in a habit to scavenge for books everywhere namely the market, the bookstore and even the library. For the last one, it all started when my buddy took the first step. Being a fan of Fascism, he was in love with Hitler and the Third Reich. Since both the USIS library and French cultural center library was next to Lycee de Vientiane, we went there whenever we didn't have class. As for our school library, it was so thinly stacked with books that we found it was a waste of time to spend the time there. Since the detecting mechanism in both of the libraries wasn't in sight (I guess that they didn't have one at that time yet), it dawned on my buddy to tuck a book or two behind his back. When this technique repeatedly worked, I did succumb to this temptation too. Gradually, my stack of books increased twofold. Name it. I had books ranging from history to philosophy and from literature to plain pictures. The way I did it was first to do my buddy's way then whenever I passed the librarian, I felt like someone was looking at my back so I came up with my own way: tucking the book in front of my belly. To make it look not bulky, I wore loose clothes and even caved in my belly. Really wonder how my buddy and I had survived this ordeal without a single catch. That was a period of one full year. I don't remember how we stopped. Maybe, the remaining books just didn't excite us (hardly no new books coming in), or maybe, we were tired of doing it the same thing for such a long time. Anyway, by the time I left Laos, my four bedroom walls were lining up with many rows of bookshelves.
By the way, not all of the books were from the libraries. I would even say that a majority of them was from a legitimate means. Believe it or not, hundreds of books were from the various embassies distributed at That Luang festival. Since I was more into collecting books than reading them, it didn't turn me into a scholar a bit. Still, that was not to say that I didn't learn anything. In fact, just reading a couple of pages or chapters in some of the books, it even surprised me that I was well acquainted with the general knowledge than any of any classmates. In fact, I know of the fascism than I had ever needed. Why? Because my buddy who knew French only a little bit and no English at all constantly had me translated the books about Fascism into Lao for him.
I will have more to say about this later.
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 5
Sabaydii,
Before I go deep into events that aren't chronological, let me start from the first year I was living in Vientiane. Then, I will cover the whole period of the old regime before I finally wrap it up with the new regime up to 1981.
The first year I came to Vientiane, I stayed with my grandparents. They had me lived in a big room shared by my elder sister and my cousin. All three of us went to Lycee de Vientiane. That was the main reason we came to live with them. In a way, it was hard to live with even your own grandparents. They had their own way of doing things which, as guests, you had to comply with. One thing was to take off your shoes even before you stepped up the stairs. Since there were stairs (one in front and another in the back), I had to constantly remember that the front one was the one I had to take my shoes off first. The front stairs connected you directly to the living room where shining floor always welcome you. My grandpa had the habit of polishing the wooden floor until it shined like a pair of new shoes. I would even say that no dust would be allowed to graze on this floor. With that came my job to sweep the floor four or five times a day especially during the weekend when I didn't have to go to school. So whenever weekend came up, I would think of myself as the sweeping guy whose image was nothing else but a broom. For the back stairs, I was allowed to wear my shoes on upstairs and took them off before I reached the kitchen. By the way, there was a veranda between the stairs and the kitchen which at one end was used as a bathing place. For me and my sister, we bathed at a place close to the well. Logically, it was less of a tear and wear for us not to carry water that far. This back stairs was also used to carry buckets of water up so you were allowed to wear shoes here. At the far end of the veranda, my grandma had a weaving machine which she would work there for a good portion of the day. I guess I haven't told you that my grandma was from Samneua so the Lum that she listened to was the one from that town. I think it was called Khub Samneua instead of Lum Samneua. The way it was sang was slow, kind of moaning and was more like a Vietnamese song. Being a person who was not in a good taste with the Vietnamese song, I found this kind of Lum annoying so I would stay as far away from my grandma's spot as possible. Still, at eating time, whenever the radio station had that kind of Lum on, she would tune to it. Luckily for me, it wasn't on most of the time. Wonder if she had a tape like nowadays, she would listen to her Lum all day long and that would be an awful thing for me indeed if I happened to be around. For me, I could go with any kind of Lum namely Lum Phuan. For those who don't know, Phuan was the main town in Xiengkhouang - the place I was born and a former kingdom too. Maybe, since I was from Xiengkhouang where people thought of themselves as better than their Samneua counterpart, I might have a bias against anything from Samneua. You can say that Phuan people in general had a rich heritage comparable to Vientiane and Luangprabang. Still, that doesn't warrant Xiengkhouang people's superiority. I had a chance to listen to Khub Samneua again lately, and I would say that it is as good as Lum Phouan. I guess that one needs to be open minded to see thing as it is, not the way one perceives it to be.
My grandparents were masterful in making good dishes. Since they were at the lower end of the middle class, they had to make sure that every single Kip counted. Therefore, their good dishes tended to be small. Being a conscientious person, I rarely ate the big pieces. In another word, I just Jum to get a little taste of it. Still, since it was so good, taste was more than enough. Strange as it may be, some dishes - little as they were could be eaten for a couple of days to come. For Jeow, it could even be eaten for the whole week. Too bad I don't remember the names of the dishes since mostly they were from Samneua. What amazed me the most was my grandparents' ability to keep the dishes last that long. Yes, at that time, we didn't have a refrigerator so I guess that they must have added salt to their meat or fish. At least, that was the way my mom did though she rarely cooked herself. Thinking back of those days, I would love to eat Lao food accompanying by the sticky rice again. Now, most of the time, I eat Chinese-like food and can only touch sticky rice at most once a week. As you may know, cooking Lao dishes takes a long time. If not for a Boun or a family gathering, we wouldn't even think of them. I can't say that not eating Lao food makes us less Lao but I would say that, without it, we feel like something is missing. By the way, have you ever noticed that if your stomach is full with sticky rice, you feel that it is really full? That means you won't be hungry that fast like eating the steamed rice. By this fact alone, doesn't it tell you something as a Lao? You, and only you, will know in your own gut.
Also, it was at my grandparents' house that I came to listen to the SeuSane (communication) radio station. This station featured the famous Jarn Peu. Now, I can't even tell what he was famous for. At that time, if you were a fan of Lao radio station and if you didn't know Jarn Peu, you must have been a weird person indeed. Asides from Jarn Peu, there was one guy who hosted the program at night at the same station. It was like the song as you requested. At that time, it was quite a revolutionary thing for listeners to call in and request song. I would say that not that many homes had the telephone but how they could pull this off was completely beyond my imagination. I, at one time, requested song too. Since we didn't have a telephone at home, I wrote a letter instead. The hit song at that time was KheunNunh (that night). Obviously, I requested for that song and would love to hear it every night. Asides from the song, I also listened to LaKhorn or Lao radio soap opera. I don't remember what the title of that one was. What I remember was about the story that a bad guy who raped the heroine (a quite novel thing for a heroine to lose her virginity to the bad guy)
Finally got his own medicine. He had an affair with another woman but got caught in the act so to avoid the penalty he jumped off the window and met his own death. Since this story was at noon, I had to make sure I got home from school in time for the show. That tells you how much I was hooked to that LaKhorn. There was another thing I was hooked on to. It was the Chinese story of SamKok (three clans). This story was the classic in Chinese literature especially the ones that were well-known in Thailand. This one was read early in the evening by some Thai radio station. At first, I was really into it but since it went on forever, I had to stop otherwise I wouldn't have time to spend on homework which, at each passing semester, it got more and more. Still, to this day, SamKok story fascinates me. I guess I need to tell otherwise you won't get a sense as to why how great it is.
Here is the nutshell of the story:
First, let me tell you about the background of the story. It happened at the time when China was dividing into three big clans competing for the throne. This was around the 5th or 6th century A.D. The clan that controlled the capital therefore it was the strongest among the three was the most hated one at least to me. This clan belonged to JoSo. The clan I rooted for was the LaoPi clan. Though quite weak among the three, this clan had KhongBeng who was incomparable in high virtue and, strangely enough, ruse. It was said KhongBeng kept LaoPi waiting for the whole night to test his determination when LaoPi came to recruit him for the country cause. In fact, LaoPi's clan, facing annihilation many times by JoSo's force, was saved only through the ruse of KhongBeng. Besides, this LaoPi clan also had KuanOu - the ultimate loyal soldier who rather died than switch to the winning side. For the third clan, it was only a minor partner in the event. I guess you have to read this story to know how earthshaking it is for it has all the tricks and strategies known to human being in that story.
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 6
Sabaydii,
Now, it is inevitable that I have to talk about my school, Lycee de Vientiane since I have already referred to it too many times already. Besides, it was the reason I came to Vientiane in the first place.
Before I tell you about my experience at this wonderful school, let me give you the school surrounding, its ambience and the school itself.
Lycee de Vientiane stood on the grand LanXang avenue where TaLatXout (morning market), Wat Sisaket, PhaRatsavang (the king palace), the post office, USIS library, the French cultural center library, and Anousavalee Nukrobkout (veteran monument - now, LanXang monument) were concentrated. Stood at the corner of the avenue in opposite end to the palace, Lycee de Vientiane side was parallel to the side of the national assembly. Not far from the national assembly was USAID which I already told you about. If you stretch further on another end of LanXang monument, you will run into That Luang, Phone Kheng and ultimately Dongdok. There was one temple that stood directly in front of Lycee de Vientiane, just behind the dormitory and the pavilion for watching the parade. It was no other temples but Wat ThatPhun (literally means temple of the dirt) itself. This temple was used to burn the corpse so virtually no one wanted to hang around this area once the darkness crept in. I had one friend who lived in Wat ThatPhun as DekWat (temple boy) which I am going to tell you about him in the later installment. In another word, Lycee de Vientiane stood at the center of things where most of the government buildings resided. By the way, I forgot to tell you that HongKanh Ratthabanh (the primer minister office) was not that far away. As with the government buildings anywhere, the area around them will be quiet after the office hours have been over. Still, since LanXang avenue is a two-lane avenue and two-way street and, moreover, it is at the hub of the town connecting to the four corners of the city; it seemed to be busy from the early morning to late sunset.
Besides, Lao people from anywhere coming to visit the capital just couldn't help but coming to look at this 'bigger-than-life' street. With that being said, LanXang avenue became the face of modern Laos. There was one time or two when LanXang avenue really became THE avenue of the whole Laos. Yes, it was during the armed forces day or national assembly day. On those days, the entire LanXang avenue was blocked for the grand parade. The many army units along with the police force, some of the government departments and of schools would participate in the event. They lined up behind LanXang monument and marched through it. Usually, the event started when a five-star general rode on a jeep out first and signaled the parade to begin. Then came the army marching band followed closely by the flag carrying of three branches of the armed forces. I would say that, besides the display of the military hardware like the tank and the artillery, the excitement mounted when the cadet (military officer) unit dressed in white uniform marched by with their arms, shoulders, head and legs straight. Each pounding of their feet onto the ground made a firm sound along with their rhythmic movement making the spectators on both sides of the street applaud incessantly. I don't remember if I had ever participated in the parade but I am sure to remember that I was one of the spectators alongside the street.
Lycee de Vientiane itself spread over quite a big chunk of land. There were four entrance gate to the building. One was from the side next to USAID. If you had a bicycle or motorcycle, you had better come this way. It was there that the parking lot was assigned. I, myself, used this entrance gate even when I didn't have a bicycle yet. Why? Because it was close to my house and, most importantly, I was used to it. A second entrance was only a few yards away. This one was for the teachers who had cars and for the cars that belonged to the sons and daughters of the government officials. By the way, there was a small parking lot for bicycles and motorcycles too.
I guess those who brought their vehicles from the other three gates had to use this parking lot which was packed all of the time. The other two entrance gates were in front separated by only a few yards too. Usually, if you were a big name student, you came through the front gate or, at most, the side gate. This way, it would expose you to a big chunk of students at a time since the front yard of Lycee de Vientiane was big and had lots of shady place under the trees to hang around. Not a few Lycean came to use this facility between classes. Their green and blue name tags displaying grandly on their shirts and blouses were to tell you that they were proud of those tags indeed. For those who are not familiar with Lycee de Vientiane of pre 1975, I have to tell you that those different name tags carried a different prestige. The blue tag belonged to the students from Sixieme to Troisieme (7th to 9th grade). Again, French educational system was different from the American one. To the latter, it takes you only six years to finish both middle school and high school. For the former, only if you are extremely bright, you can do so within the same time period. That means you pass the entrance exam with, maybe, the highest scores, then you go directly to Cinquieme bypassing Sixieme A and Sixieme B. Personally, I haven't known anyone who has done that. Still, since this exists, I guess there must be someone doing that once in a while. For the average students, you have to go from Sixieme B to Sixieme A, then Cinquieme, Quatrieme, Troisieme, Seconde, Premier, and finally Terminal.
I, myself, came to know one person who passed the entrance exam and jumped directly to Sixieme A. She, herself, failed the entrance exam the first time. The reason I know about this is because she happened to be my cousin. Both she and her sister failed the entrance exam the first time they took it. Also, both of them went to the Catholic School - Dara Sisamout. In another word, to be a student at Lycee de Vientiane, going to private school is a sure advantage. Since it was tough to get in, it was likely that Lycee students though wearing blue name tags were, in fact, young men and women. With that being said, those students wearing green name tags especially the male ones were the envy of those wearing the blue tag names. It wasn't unusual to see girls of blue tag names look up to their male counterparts in green with admiration. At the same time, those green tag names also liked to walk by wherever the concentration of blue tag names girls hung around. I and my buddies always looked for the day when we, too, could tag that green thing on top of our shirts. When that day came, we would swerve around like a HongKham (golden swan).
Until that day arrives... Now ,we would have to satisfy with the blue name tags for at least four more years.
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 7
Sabaydii,
Since I haven't done with the school description yet, here is the follow-up. Lycee de Vientiane had over ten buildings. The front one was used as an administrative center. This one was of two stories and aesthetically designed especially the façade on the second floor which was shaped like a big box stuffed with hundreds of small and empty cubes inside. This building also housed a big auditorium which was also used as a testing place. Asides from this one, there were four more buildings built of two stories. One belonged to the teachers' living quarter. Another I wasn't sure since it was deserted for some unknown reasons. Looks more like it was once used as a student dormitory . The third one was used for the Sixieme A and Cinquieme classes. The fourth one which was next to the soccer field was of a dual purpose. The upper floor was used as the student dormitory while the lower floor was reserved for the Quatrieme. My first year class was in the one story building behind the teacher living quarter next to auditorium. Facing us was the building of Troisieme. If I remember correctly, the Seconde, Premier and Terminal classes were right after the main front gate. All the buildings were painted in white or, more correctly, Greek color like looking building. At the corners of the soccer field and the Terminal building stood a cafeteria and a big restroom. In fact, I shouldn't say that it was a cafeteria since it was consisted of only a place to buy drink and food. Moreover, they didn't have any tables or chairs to sit down. Behind the 'cafeteria' stood a Bibliotheque (kind of a place to store teaching materials namely books from various grades). As I recall, it was open only at the beginning of the school year so that we could check out books and at the end of the school year for getting back those books. Since this bibliotheque was at the corner next to the wall and quite out of sight, some male students who were in a hurry or just plain lazy just relieved themselves over there. Did I do it too? Of course, I did since the toilet between classes was always packed. If you had to wait for your turn which was quite long, at times, you would definitively be late for class. During that time, being constantly late for class would amount to a good reprimand and, ultimately, suspension. Me? I had never got myself into those kind of things especially when it has something to do with what my son later called 'going to the bathroom for #1' (being that the other one is called #2). In general, this school had a lot of shady spots since trees were strategically planted around the campus except, of course, the soccer field. Still, Lycean would religiously packed the four sides of the field whenever their team played. I would say that the soccer team of Lycee de Vientiane was as good as of any teams in the country. At one time, they rivaled with Team KongThup (the armed forces team) who was always the strongest team in the country. By the way, the match among the Division One, which our school team belonged, was played in Sanam Kila HengXat (the national stadium). I would say more to say about the Lycean team in the later installment for they were really great and, therefore, captured the imagination of the entire soccer fans.
Getting back to Lycee per se, classes were held very much like college courses. For example, one might have math four or five days a week and each week one or two hours at a time. Each subject was taught by a particular Professeur (professor) who came to your class at the assigned time (yeah, there was a difference here. In the U.S., it was you who went to different classes, not the teachers. Besides, there wasn't a bell ringing at the end of each period like the one in Lycee). From Sixieme B to Quatrieme, there was no differentiation yet. That means students of the same grade learnt the same thing. Things were different when you entered Troisieme. Here, they classified you as belonging to a certain categorization. For those who were good at math were relegated to Section C which was highly regarded among the peers. For those who were good at letters or language were to go to Section A. Section B was reserved for those who were science oriented namely Biology major. Finally, those who didn't show sign of greatness in anything were to go to Section D. This system of categorization was to be dismantled in 1975 when the new regime had taken over Laos. Yes, it was the very year I was to enter Troisieme so I was kind of unlucky not to have an opportunity to experience this much-talked about system. At that time, I wasn't even sure what I was good at. My math was so-so compared to my peers. Science? I just wasn't interested in it so my grades were only a little bit over the median. By the way, scoring even if in the median was hard enough. About the scoring system, twenty was the highest that anyone could get. Usually, even if you were an extremely bright student, you would get only eighteen or nineteen the most. I, myself, had rarely seen anyone getting the perfect score especially in math. The score to aim at for anyone was a ten (just half the total). If you got that one, you were to pass to another grade. If not, you would have to stay in the same class for another year. In general, a majority of students was in the range of ten to twelve. Most of the time, you would see the top scorer in the fourteen mark. Once in a while, the number one student reached the plateau of sixteen mark. By this fact alone, it did tell you that grading at Lycee was terribly tough. If you aren't that very good, don't even think of even getting a C (three fourth of the total scores which were translated into the fourteen range) at the Lycee system. By the way, scores were tabulated every month. As it happens everywhere, those who were on top were usually on top months in and months out. Me? On top like in Thadeua? No way. Roughly speaking, I was more to the tail end of the first tier at most.
Maybe, if I showed some sign of greatness, it was in philosophy and, more and more, in composition. Too bad, though I was good with grammar - French grammar of course, I had a hard time composing in a format the professor wanted. By the way, at that time, Lao language was treated as a foreign language course (that means you had the choice to take or not to take it) while French language course was mandatory. The textbooks were also in French so if you didn't read and write well in French, you were out of luck. In fact, you wouldn't be able to get in in the first place anyway. Speaking French? By the time I got in Lycee, the lower level grades weren't taught by the French professors anymore so if you didn't speak French well as I did (too shy to speak French for fear of making a fool of myself), you could still manage to get by. With the way professorship was changing hands from French citizens to Lao ones (the pre 1975 regime wanted to have more stake in running their own educational system), I would say that my graduating class of 1979 and later was less fluent in French than their counterparts of an earlier class. After all, French is just a harder language to master. Most of the time, you were caught in Jaek Verbe (changed the tense) that you thought it was better off not to deal with this frustration at all.
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 8
Sabaydii,
When I first started Lycee, my parents bought me a bicycle. I guess it must be a not very good one since I hardly remember anything about it. My first one in Thakek I remember it very well because it was a very good model. Yes, it was a Peugeot which, at that time, a number one bike - very much like a Benz Mercedez or BMW in cars. Too bad that I had to ride a no-name bike. In fact, it was even worse when comparing my stake with those of my cousins. They went to school not with bikes but with an automobile. These cousins of mine were the children of my grandpa's youngest sister. Of all the families, this sister of his was the wealthiest. Her house was made of concrete and had its own water pump. She also had a two stories concrete building called HongHian Philippine (Philippine school) adjacent to the main road. In another word, her property flanked my grandpa's house by both sides. Besides that, it was said that she also owned a big rice field, next to her house, which she rented it to migrant farmers. She, herself, was a MaeKha Pa (fish merchant) who spent time at the Morning Market from dawn to dusk. Yes, so far so good until there were two mistresses at the house instead of one. I don't think that it is proper for me to go into details here. Suffice it to say that the offspring of hers had a dark skin while the other one had a lighter skin. At times, I really wonder how the two wives could coexist in the same house. More importantly, since both wives had over half a dozen kids, how did they stay under one roof and didn't bite one another to death? I, myself, hardly went to their house. It wasn't the fence that separated us and neither the big, barking dog but it was something else which was hard to point out. My daily contact with them was through their car passing by and, by fate or not, one of their daughters happened to be in my class for six years of the entire eight years I spent at Lycee de Vientiane. By the way, her name was Ouy. In general, she was a fine girl and quite pretty. What was interesting was, though being cousins, we hardly talked or did homework together. At times, I even felt that she was out to beat me in class. According to my recollection, I didn't recall that I had beaten her even once. Her elder sister, who was one grade above us, had a misconception that I was a very good student (she still does now). Maybe, because of this reason, her younger sister, Ouy, came out ready to beat me in class all the time. Strange as it may be, I later became obsessed with her which I will tell you in the later installment.
There were four ways for me to go to school. I could either take the dusty road that cut across my house and then turned right to the road that would take me straight to school. Since I didn't like the dust to start with, I hardly took this road. The second road was straight from my house to Vang Pao's house and then zigzagged through the movie theater area to the road to school. This zigzagged part had to pass by the backyard of many houses which, at times, they were closed. Since the gate wasn't locked, what I needed to do was just kicking it open. This zigzagged part was the one part that I passed by virtually every day to school no matter what road I ended up taking it. Why? Because it was such a neat shortcut that could save me up to five minutes. The third road was also straight from my house but before it reached Van Pao's house, there was another road that took me either to the zigzagged area or straight to school. The last road was through part of the dusty road and the short road that connected to the zigzagged area. I would say that it was the fourth road that I frequently used. Since this road cut through Wat Nahaidiew, it was great to pass under the Pho tree and benefited from its cool shadow. As you know, the temperature in Laos tended to be hot most of the time especially during the dry season. Here, a little help from the sweltering sun would help tremendously. Besides, you didn't want the collar of your white shirt to turn black before the week was over. Less exposing to the sun would definitively help to this cause. In general, it took me ten to fifteen minutes to get to school. As a matter of fact, fifteen was the time I calculated to get to class. That means five minutes to find a place to park my bike and walked to class. At times, it was somewhat hard to walk through the alley between the two buildings. This alley connected one end of the school to another, and it passed through my class (in fact, the building where my class was held. My class, instead, was at the other end of the building). What was special about this alley was that it had a roof so when it was terribly hot, more students would cramp under it making the traffic really slow. Since this area tended to be packed during the rush hour (8 am), I had to unwillingly give up five more extra minutes. Telling you the truth, at that time, I didn't like school that much. Yes, it was an honor to go to this prestigious school but the vigorous schoolwork just took out all the fun. Besides, not being able to be on top of the class did have something to do with the drudgery of school. Moreover, my first year teachers were all lifeless. I remember one teacher whose house was near the Nahaidiew primary school. This guy hardly smiled at all. Studying with him was like going to the boot camp. The motto of the day seemed to be to drill and to drill. I couldn't help wondering why he was that way. Was it because he lived in a dark and cramped apartment, not worthy of his status? Or was he that way since the beginning of time? Hard to approach to begin with, I didn't even bother to go to him when any of the schoolwork problems arose. It seemed that he got along with the girls who flocked to him with any possible questions imaginable. No wonder that they did well as a group. For me, I was just limping along hoping to get some break which never came. To this day, I couldn't help but wondering if only I had just one teacher whom I could connect with, I might have a chance to shine academically. I know that what I needed most at that time wasn't much of a drilling but a caring heart which would help smoothen my transition from home to this rat race school. Reminiscing back, I just realized that I had spent more time with other activities than schoolwork itself. Yes, at that young age, you just didn't realize that people determined your worth not by your being but by how well you had done in class in comparison with others. That's what life is and will continue to be so for a long time to come.
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 9
Sabaydii,
Since my days at Lycee covered over a period of eight years with half in the old regime and another half in the new one, it would be proper for me to write in each distinct period.
From 1971 to 1975:
It was an exciting period to be at Lycee at this time. Apart from the soccer team that played the best soccer ever, Lycee did boast an academic excellence. It was said that those who went on to study in France were as good as any students graduated from the French schools. I guess it was of this reason that the Lycean came out to claim that they were better than those who went on to study at Dongkok. I, myself, a product of Lycee would say that apart from the few bright ones Lycean weren't better than those who went to Dongdok at all. In fact, a big portion of them was considered so-so that you could substitute them with students from anywhere on a comparable grade and still see no difference. In regards to this matter, this equally applied to the Lycean (named differently, of course) after 1975 as well. In general, those who got in were mainly the children of the middle class. It was either one of their parents had gone to Lycee or the elder sibling did. Since the path was already paved for them, what they needed to do was just following it. There was one case that strikingly illustrated this. It was known throughout Lycee that Minister Ngon Sananikhone's kids were, whom you would call like a movie 'Dumb and Dumber', if left to their own merit wouldn't get into Lycee in the first place. By the way, Mr. Ngon was the minister of Public Works. More importantly, he belonged to the influential Sananikhone family. Yes, this is an extreme case but it did tell you that this high caliber school was not perfect at all. If you ask me whether I was better than a good portion of the Lycean I mentioned. No, not at all. If I have to pick out those who really deserved their place in this great school, I would go with the sons and daughters of the farmer folks and, to a greater extent, of the minorities folks. Once in a while, we will see them graze the landscape of Lycee. When they did, they were truly exceptional. I, myself, had three minorities classmates. One was a ThaiDam (black Tai) and the other two were of the Hmong. These two disappeared as soon as the peace agreement of 1973 had kicked in. All of them were good at math and were no less so with French. Maybe, that I wasn't originally from Vientiane, they had more trust in me than any other classmates. To me, what differentiated them with others was their hardworking. They studied very hard and gave time for anything else. No wonder they were always in the top tier of the class. Of the farmers' offspring in my class, I got none. I heard that there were a couple of them in other classes that did quite well.
Now, le me get back to the glorious day of Lycee. There was nothing spectacular happening in my class or my grade of about ten classes altogether. Where it happened was at my sister's grade who was three grades above me. I would say that, to my pleasant astonishment, one of the Quatrieme students stood no higher than four feet. In another word, he was a dwarf among the giants which the short of them was at least one feet taller than he was. Most would say that he was older than he looked. Still, by the way he looked, he didn't look older than a ten year old kid. That really complicated the issue. Whatever his real age might be, his presence did give color to our school and something that I remember about even today. By the way, did I ever tell you that Lycean wore a uniform? For male students, white shirt and blue pant were a necessity. For the female students, white blouse and blue Sinh (long skirt) were a must. Since no less than half of the student body was grown up (applied to those Seconde up - in some cases, you could even argue for the Troisieme too ), Lycee campus was very much like a typical college campus here except, of course, kissing and hugging or even holding hands in public.
I have one story to tell you about how a typical Lycean treated the Lao language course which, at that time, was like an optional course. Students who took this class just wanted to either have an easy grade or another hour to relax between the heavy loaded classes. You know what my friends did? They, of course male students, bribed the teacher by buying him a cup of coffee and let him sip all the way to the end of the class while they, themselves, pulled out homework from other classes to do right in front of the teacher. According to my recollection, no one flunked this Lao language course and most got the grade in the range of twelve to sixteen without a single drop of sweat. Then, in the latter part of the eighties, I saw this teacher again at Rockford, Illinois. As usual, wherever he was, he wasn't far away from the coffee cup. Did I blame him for being so lax in those days? Yes and no. Yes, because it deprived me of the Lao language I later come to love. If he didn't let my friends have their way, I might have even learned to compose Lao poetry the way it was supposed to be - not the free verse I am used to now. No, because there was no way that the teacher could change the demeaning attitude of the Lycean towards the Lao language.
Talking about teachers, I had one that was outstanding. In fact, he wasn't a regular teacher but a substitute one in time of needs. More than that, he was a directeur (principal) of our school. The way he taught I came to know that he was so good at the subject because he didn't have to look at the textbook or a note like some of the teachers liked to do. Moreover, he was passionate about what he was doing. His exuberance was so contagious that I came to love every word he expounded despite the fact that what he taught was about geology. This directeur was a man of forty something. He liked to wear classes. I am sure that those of us who went to Lycee in the early seventies will know him. After all, he was such a good administrator/teacher that any Lycean could be proud of.
The last bright spot about Lycee was unanimously given to the Lycee soccer team. Judging from the ages of the players, you would say that they were a junior team. Unfortunately, for any opposing teams, our Lycee team played like nothing else but king of the hill. Believe it or not, they were no less better than the armed forces team whose players, for the most part, played for the national team. Of course, when matched against the physical and experienced armed forces team, our Lycean team lost more often than they won. Still, our school style of playing which was a short pass was so impressive that it won the hearts of every soccer fan. Really wonder if the old regime still exists, this great group of young men namely the masterful forward TiengThong (he was in Troisieme) would heap trophies upon trophies to our school awards. Better yet, our national team would benefit greatly from the addition of our Lycee players. Just look at the national team now, and one can not help but wonder what has happened to them - a double loss to the Arab/Persian teams in the recent pre qualifying matches to the world cup. By the way, our Lycean team lost big too at one time. That day when it rained heavily, the short pass couldn't take off so the armed forces team - a physical team, just had the day. The final score was like four or five to one. Of the great team Lycee had at its heyday, only one member stayed behind. His name is Kong, a native of Savannakhet, who came to join the great Lycee team at its peak. He, himself, played for the national team for a good portion of years before retiring. Compared to TiengThong and his elite teammates, Kong was still a far cry from them. In another word, this soccer drama was very much like the drama of the country played on the smaller scale. The greatness that was about to come was immaturely cut short when things suddenly changed. Whatever each one of us may think of the change, there is much to be desired as a soccer team, as a people and as a country.
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 10
Sabaydii,
Lycee de Vientiane from 1975 to 1981:
During this period, Lycee became just one of the leading schools, though still highly coveted by virtually all students. In another word, Lycee lost all of its distinctive edge characterized by its high educational standard modeling after the highly competitive French one. Yes, it was the categorization of students into disparate groups of classes that appealed and enticed the ambitious young men and women to come here no matter how many times it would take them to pass the entrance exam. Why? Because they wanted to prove that they were among the best in their generation. Starting with 1975, this mystique was somewhat lost. The school name was even changed to Oudom Vientiane. Gone also was the name tag, the strict grading, and the highly elusive score of a perfect twenty. With the new system came the more frequently attainable score of a perfect ten. Funny as it may be, the same group of students who hardly reached a plateau of fourteen (comparable to a score of seven in the new system), now rarely had anyone gone under that mark. Did our school suddenly become a better school with a departure of a good portion of 'backward' thinking students? Or did the interjection of new teachers from the 'liberated' area extract the most out of us? Or even did the addition of the students from the 'liberated' area help inspired us to strive harder? Suffice it to say that now the former Lycean could indulge in a proliferation of grade they could have hardly dreamed of. Moreover, if you were not good in any subject, you could still get help from the entire class. To make it even easier, the teachers - namely the math and physic teachers would give a number of tests in advance to the students so that they could derive the answers before the actual (selected among those) test was finally given in a week or so. I would say if anyone didn't get a decent grade after all of these help, he or she must have been terribly lazy or dump beyond any hope. Wonder if Minister Nyon's offspring was still here, would they continue to be a laughing stock as before? Or wasn't there any way to separate the mediocrity from this mass self-delusion of greatness? Really curious to know if this great school could make itself to take this path, I really wonder how extreme the measures would be for the minor schools to take so that all were happy and things were all good in the eyes of the power-that-be.
If you ask me whether I liked 'Lycee' of post 1975, my answer is likely to be a 'No' though I would have hardly changed any school for this one. As you would have guessed the quality of other schools both physically and instructionally was even in worse shape than this one. At least, we still had some of the quality teachers left behind. Most importantly, no matter how 'Lycee' really was, we still lived on its good name. And that was enough to sustain our ego and to help carry us further in life (hopefully, of course). At the same token, there were many things happening to Lycee that a mere 'yes' or 'no' to the above question won't give a sense of fairness to the new regime. With their limited resources and ideological straight jacket, it was more of a wonder that the 'Lycean' were allowed to study more than spending time doing the extracurricular activities such as digging canals or planting vegetables. I guess what most of us hated the most was a regularly big dose of a political indoctrination. It seemed to go forever and at high frequency especially at the first few years of the new regime. Since this is just an overview of 'Lycee' after 1975, I will leave the details for later installments. Besides, there was a lot to tell about the Lycean life in this stage of our country development.
Lastly, it would be fitting to wrap up this installment with the most memorable part of 'Lycee' in the period of post 1975. After all, whatever 'Lycee' turned out to be, it was still my school - 'Lycean' school. It was we, not anyone else, who gave life to this school so, with this realization, we created our memorable moments. Of which, this is one.
He was a math teacher who taught math at Oudom level (10th to 12th grade). Though having a math degree from France, he was very humble, and most of all, very approachable. Every student loved him even those who did miserably in his class. What was most memorable about him was his sincere concern for the young generation's education. Besides teaching in class and making himself available to students in and out of school, he also taught math for free during his free time. This class was open to all students from Oudom 1 to Oudom 3. It was at this class that I came to know more of him. To start with, he wasn't my math teacher though my friends at the other classes had talked highly of him. By the way, he lived at Bane PhearWat where he held a free math class. Seeing him at close distance, I was even more impressed not only by his brilliance in teaching but by his being as a person. Slowly talking and very patient with his students' slow learning, he explained the math concept again and again until the dumbest of us finally got it. Judging from his accent, I construed that he was from the South. He, himself, was kind of dark. If he were well-built and in a good health, he would typify the proud southerner. Too bad that he was in bad health, the class had to be cancelled as regularly as my lame excuse was. Soon, I too stopped going to his class. Still, to this day, the image of an unpretentious man giving all he had for the country and people he dearly loved was deeply imprinted in my mind. How much would you expect from a man who pedaled a bike to school carrying his frail body around as if he had all the world to give? May he live long to see and read this account! As a 'former' student, I would like to tell him that he was such a bright spot at the post 1975 Lycee. Though not acknowledged by the power-that-be, his exemplary behavior has become a model we, Lycean, will always strive to emulate it.
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 11
Sabaydii,
Today, I will talk about my classmates. Some I knew since 1971 when I started Sixieme B, and some of a relatively later day of my school years. There was one person who jumped out at me. His name was Phouvong Phalakhone. We had been in the same class for six years. After graduation, we also worked for the same ministry - the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In general, Phouvong was a serious person. He always had eyes for an excellence and a perfection which, in turn, drove him incessantly. In contrast to many classmates who didn't know what they wanted out of life yet, Phouvong came with a set of plans ready to be implemented. This made easy by his strong disposition and the ability to mix with any sort of people. At first stage, he would focus primarily on education. Since he came to understand that French was the language of the day, he was determined to master it with a pure determination and panache. It wasn't unusual to see him converse this hard-to-learn language with the teachers and even fellow advanced students on a regular basis. By the time French was no longer the prima lingua (starting with 1973), he was already fluent with it. This mastery did pay off when he came to work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where part of the duties was to deal with the French speaking foreigners. The second thing he came out to conquer was to land himself at the forefront of the elite class of students. To accomplish that end, he made friends with the top students in any class. By pure association, presumably mentoring at times, he was categorically at the top five spot of the class. When the new regime kicked in, he was well positioned to make the most out of it. First, he got himself elected to be the president of the class. Secondly, he gave all out to become a TuaDenh (an exemplary student) on a consistent basis. Here, he would volunteer to do anything such as digging canals and planting gardens. Finally, he would lobby very hard to get himself elected into the revolutionary youth organization, a junior partner of Phak Pasason Pativat Lao (the Lao Communist Party). At that time, to be a revolutionary youth member amounted to having a ticket to a certain privilege namely the rights to be sent to study abroad after high school and, ultimately, to a position of power. Strange as it may be, there were lots of revolutionary youth organizations especially at the village level. Unfortunately, the one that had the sole prestige was the one organized and controlled by the school, and in the case of outside schools, various ministries. Yes, being a member of the local youth organization helped but it didn't necessarily translate into the acceptance of the school one. That was the perfect example of Phouvong's case. He was a youth member at the local community but not the one at school. Judging from all criteria, he should be in. Unfortunately, he didn't come from the working class family. His dad was in the civil service and his mom was just a housewife. With this kind of background, he was repeatedly barred from a junior party organ. I later learned that he was bypassed to study abroad even after his productive years at his new job. Finally, fed up with the system, he resigned from his job and left behind a dream of becoming a diplomat which he was more than qualified, if given a chance.
That was the story of my friend who now played the dice of marrying himself into the circle of power. On my recent visit to Laos, I was told that he got married to the daughter of ChaoKhaeng Khammouane. Hopefully, when I see him again, he would be getting close to his dream and realize his great potential. After all, our country has every right to be served by the most qualified member of the society. Isn't that right?
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 12
Sabaydii,
Before I leave Phouvong to write about other classmates, I would like to add that, apart from his highly marketable skills, he was also outstanding in the art of composing essays and short stories. Since he was a big fan of the great writers of the world namely Voltaire, Balzac, Guy de Maupassant, Anton Chekov, Gogol, Maksim Gorky, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, his writing was deep and insightful about human nature. Moreover, he had a knack for the choice of words which gave a distinctive style to his writing. At one time, right before my departure to Thailand, we formed a literary group known as TaVenhDeng (red sun). This group was consisted of four members with one graduating at the top of our class and the fourth, another one of our 1979 class, a big fan of French novels. Our first objective was to translate foreign works into Lao. Then, after achieving some kind of recognition, we would create our own short stories. Phouvong got this kind of idea because he was impressed with a Thai literary group called PhaChanhSuay (the crescent moon). In all probabilities, we could be on the same par with that group. After all, the conditions of our two groups were kind of similar in an existential sense. Our group, a product of a transitional period from the old regime to the new one, was ripe with the experience of the two. We thought that we could help with people in our generation. It wasn't that we could educate them (not our job anyway) but it was in the sharing of feeling as pals that we could make life more meaningful.
As for the crescent moon, they came into being because Thailand in the late sixties and early seventies were experiencing a turmoil caused by the American involvement in the Vietnam War and the stationing of the U.S. troops in their soil. Compounding with the intellectual stupor prevalent in the country, this group voice was like an oasis in the desert. Of course, they were a smashing hit only to the students since they themselves came from that representation. To us, that was big enough. After all, we could write only what we had experienced, right? Some would say that it was not necessary the case. Yes, you could write out of your own imagination but imagination, without an understanding of life which needs time to develop, was a pure nonsense. As a group, we were as much influenced by the French, American, and Russian literature as the Thai leftist one. One of the Thai writers we admired the most was Si Burapha. His writing of social consciousness with love as a setting became a model which we always tried to emulate. Unfortunately, we didn't get that far. We were told to dismantle our group only after one set of translating works was finished and had them published at Vientiane Mai newspaper (as I remember, I did the translation of Oscar Wilde's short story 'The Nightingale'. Since I was the only one who knew English and, at the same time, possessed a significant number of English books; it was very likely that I would end up translating more than any of my friends if only our group lasted a little longer). In fact, we should have foreseen that if we were smart enough. What in the world did we expect the new regime to allow an alternative voice - a voice that wasn't tightly controlled by the party? By this fact alone, it did tell you that we were nothing but a child in the world of politics. In retrospect, this unconventional thinking among other things doomed Phouvong's and my chance of being sent to study abroad as the ministry purported to be doing in regards to its new recruits.
On a personal note, Phouvong was both close and apart to me. Close in the sense that we shared the same interest, we loved reading and writing. And to our pleasant surprise, we read and write almost the same thing. Besides, when his dad passed away, I was the one who was by his side. Also, when I decided to leave Laos, I did ask him to go with me. At that time, his young sister was already living in Canada so if he decided to leave the country, he could easily have joined his sister over there. Now, about our sense of being apart, he was more of a guy who liked to be in the limelight while I preferred to stay in the background. Asides from that, it was hard to nail down our difference - subtle as it was. Suffice it to say that we were friends and strangers at the same time. Whatever it really was, I was glad to know him and wish him all the luck. Maybe, one day, we will have a chance to work together and to get to know one another better. After all, with the likes of two of us, we could spice up the world of Lao literature with a far more impact than ever. The question is: do we have anything left after two decades of stupor. I guess only time will tell…
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 13
Sabaydii,
There was another friend of mine whom I liked dearly. Unfortunately, I forgot his name. Yes, you can see that I forgot too many people's names especially friends. That doesn't mean that they weren't special to me. Instead, they were otherwise I wouldn't have anything to say about them. I guess I just have a bad memory with names. That's all. Now, about the friend I mentioned above. He was from Pakse. Typical of the southerner, he was good at math. Still, that wasn't the quality that impressed me. His sensitivity to life instead appealed to me. By physical structure, he was a well-built guy. Equipped with a sharp intellect, he was the kind of guy that our country would be proud to have a multitude of him. Too bad that we had been classmates for only one year. That was in Oudom 1 which was also the very last year before they broke my class since Sixieme B. That was a continuation of six years since that first class at Lycee. At first, I didn't pay much attention to him but since he always saw me carrying a book wherever I went, he approached me and asked what the book was about. With that initiation, we had a lively conversation about philosophy - my favorite subject which happened to be the book I carried with me at that time. I would say that though fascinated by philosophy, he was pragmatic and competent at the management of the daily life. Asides from being a good student, he made his own money by photographing pictures and teaching English. Since he and his brother didn't have to rent for a place to live (they had a spacious house to live near Chinaimo military headquarter. I guess the house belonged to their extended family), his income was more than enough to sustain the basic lifestyle of the two brothers. I went to visit him at his house a number of times, and I would say that he was very gracious and mature than any of his group age (mine included, of course). Since his house was not that far from KhamLa NoKeo - the well known songwriter, he made friends with him and as a result turned himself into a not-so-bad songwriter too. That showed you how talented he was. In fact, he was prime to make a splash if nothing mysterious and fishy didn't happen along the way. He was suddenly caught and thrown in the prison for the clandestine activities. In another word, he was accused of plotting against the new regime. Then, for an unexplained reason, he was released after spending a good amount of time incarcerated. With a blemish in his life, justified or not, his life wasn't the same. Yes, he could still go on with his daily life but the prospect of making it big as he was capable of was gone forever. I don't know how he is doing now. Whatever he may end up doing, I am sure that he will make the most out of it. I know that he is a fighter and nothing is going to dampen his fighting spirit. That's how much trust I have in him!
Another friend of mine I like to mention here was Laeh (very dark). He also shared my class for only one year. Laeh, the friend I mentioned above and I were like the three musketeers hanging out together. In fact, I still have a picture taken at my house featuring the three of us. At that time, who could tell that it was going to Laeh who would step up in the social ladder? The irony was that he wasn't much into study and more into Fascism, a hated enemy of Communism. Still, he was the one who was sent to study abroad after high school. I guess what was in stock was that he didn't come from a bourgeois background like most of my friends. Personally, that was fine with me. As a friend, I had nothing against him but best wishes. Hope that if he is in a position of power, he won't be too fascist. More than that, I wish that his infatuation with Fascism was just a fad that just came to visit him for a while. After all, he was such an amicable guy that he didn't need to result to that kind of ideology to get people to love him and to rally to his side. I, for one, love him for in his heart I see his goodness untainted by the maddening lust for power.
Before I move on, I would like to add a finishing touch to these two friends of mine. As for my first friend, he doesn't need power to make his life going. After all, what constitutes him is a power to itself. With the opening of the country like this, nothing will keep him down. As for Laeh, since he sees power as a realization of his true self, power is what he needs - little as it may be. In the final analysis, everyone will get what he or she strives for. There is no need to be saddened if you don't get it at a certain period of time. Some day, somehow you will get it. Just take heart!
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 14
Sabaydii,
I will tell you some more of my classmates which typified my generation. They can be roughly divided into two groups: the 'HouaKaoNah' (the progressive), and the bourgeoisie. Obviously, the former group was the darling of the new regime. They were always in the forefront, at least, in their ostantious pretense. You might ask: who were these people? For some whom I knew since Sixieme B, I can categorically say that they were not different from the latter group. Once they knew about the nature of the new regime, they co-opted it. That was they became the ardent mouthpieces of the revolution and began the process of self-separation from their former 'incorrigible' friends. Yet, they were some who were earnestly for the revolution just for the revolution sake. This subsection of the group tended to be less flamboyant and therefore got less noticing. This was obvious when it came to rewards namely the rights to study abroad in such coveted countries like East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union. The most they could get was to be awarded to study in Vietnam. Not a few were hypocritically sent to Dongdok University with the tag that they were the best in the fields, be it mathematics or physics. The irony was that if you were a big name, you were sent to study abroad whether you were at the top of the field or not. The commonly accepted notion that only the best got the scholarship didn't apply in this new regime. In another word, the more you kowtowed to me, the higher the reward would be. No wonder more Lao students were sent back home in their mid studies for lack of qualification. Still, for those who came back with a degree were far less academically qualified than those who were left behind. Wonder what kind of signal this sort of treatment was sent to the young Lao. I, for one, didn't like it a bit. After all, if you want to build an equitable society, why don't you do it right at the first place? Or maybe, that was the best they could do.
Of the latter group, it was obvious that they were on their own. Here, they had two choices. One was to flee the country and further their education in the third country, or eke out a living with the hope that one day they might have a chance to be sent to study abroad from their respective ministries they currently worked for. Some took the first course even before they had finished school and some opted for the second childishly clinging to the idea that their turn would come one day. Unfortunately, for a majority of them, that day never came! Now, who were these bourgeoisie? They ranged from the formerly middle ranked officials' sons and daughters to the low ranked ones. Of one thing I know for sure is that they didn't include the sons and daughters of the high officials of the old regime. Those people already left the country even before the changing of the regime. Of those who stayed behind (the less high ranked post), they occupied the medical school. Here, you should know that, apart from the coveted countries named above, medical school was the second best choice.
At that time, Dr. Vannareth was the number two man in the ministry of health so, by his own connection to the old regime, he took in some of their kids. Moreover, being a big fan of soccer, he helped bring in quality star players from Lycee. Among those who benefited from special treatment was my classmate, Nu, and another one of class 1979, Kong. As you can see, our bourgeoisie group benefited from the new regime too if they happened to have the right connection or be endowed with a special talent. For those who didn't fall into those categories, hard luck was for them. In general, everyone of us was for ourselves than of any time. Some wanted to test out the water and see whether they could make it in this new world or not. Some just wanted to buy time before they themselves took off, and some just let the daily activities overwhelm them (numb them to be exact) so that they wouldn't have to think about their future. Whatever situation they were in, they faced a foe that was bigger than themselves. At one time, they acquiesced. At another, they cajoled, or if conditions permitted, they mounted a passive resistance. Whatever they did, the foe remained inscrutable to them. By design or not, this bourgeoisie group of ours gradually became a lost generation. We didn't fit in neither the old nor the new regime. In another word, a taste of the revolution made us see the old regime with a critical eye. At the same time, though leaning to justice, what was in front of our eyes was far from the self-professed claim.
Yes, this was the price we had to pay for being caught in the world other people had created for us. I would say that, for those of us, who haven't lost faith in the good nature of human being, may power be with them. Maybe, one day, with their exemplary path, we might be able to get back our lost innocence.
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 15
Sabaydii,
Now, it is time to talk about the Mekong River. Unlike any other places I used to live, my house in Vientiane was not that close to the river. In fact, if I rode a bicycle, it would take me about fifteen minutes to get there. I would say that, since the Mekong River was a part of me, I liked to spend my idle time just watching the sunset. If you ever witnessed the sunset on the Mekong River particularly at DonChanh, you would be hard-pressed to remember it until the rest of your life. Yes, DonChanh - an island during the dry season extended its magic touch on most of the Mekong River from Pak Pasak to the land down under the Mahosot hospital area. Here, if you feel like it, you can even take a wobbling bridge to the sandy beach. I, for one, never passed my weight on that about-to-crumble bridge. Just watching people strolling on it already made me nervous. One of my friends even tried to lure me into it by proclaiming that watching the sunset from that vantage was very spectacular. To me, as long as it was at DonChanh, you wouldn't be disappointed a bit. Now, if you ask, what is so spectacular about that place? Frankly speaking, I just don't know how to put into words. Maybe, it was because of the outstretched sight of the sand, or the twinkling ray of light on the water before the sun was about to set, or it was just Vientiane - the land of the proud Lao. To me, the land and its people were what made the place interesting. From the time immemorial (figuratively speaking, of course), Meuang Vientiane had featured prominently in the Lao consciousness. For those who are into history, he or she will know about Meuang Phainam, Meuang Viengkham, and Meuang Chanthaburie. They were all the former names of Meuang Vientiane. For those who are curious about those names which have a long and rich history, I will give you a brief intro so that you can find more about them. According to the Lao history book, the place where Meuang Vientiane existed was called Meuang Phainam because the city was protected by the thick walls of bamboo (Phai). When Chao FaNgum unified all other Meuang Lao under one umbrella, he made a detour around this city en route to Muang Sua (Luangprabang). The reason was because it was so well protected that it would take more than a military might to subjugate it. As it turned out to be, Chao FaNgum had to turn to the trick by having his soldiers patch the arrows with gold and then shot them into the thick of the wall. At the same time, he had his army withdraw from the city. Seeing that the attacking army was gone, the townspeople came out and cleared the wall for gold. Soon, the wall was but a plain. With that, Chao FaNgum's army had no hard time conquering the city. Because the city was won by gold, it was renamed to Viengkham - literally mean a city (Vieng) of gold (Kham). As for Chanthaburie, the legend stated that it was a guy named Chanh who came from NongHanh (SakonNakhon in Isan) after the big flood. He was the one who led people to build the city and, as a consequence, townspeople came to name the city after him. That was Chanthaburie - literally means the city (burie) of Chanh. According to another legend, it was claimed that the city was built by the two Rishies (wise men) who first planted the Chanh tree at DonChanh. By the way, I myself have never seen a Chanh tree. Really wonder what it looks like. Still, there was one temple by the Mekong River next to DonChanh that was called Wat Chanh. This is a pure coincidence of names or not, I do not know.
Now, let me talk about the name of Vientiane which is quite a controversy in itself. As of right now, there are two candidates to the name of Vientiane. One is the city of the moon. Of course, Chanh in Lao means the moon. You can see any of the foreign books that write about Vientiane or ViengChanh to be exact refer to Vientiane as the city of the moon. Another is that this city was named after Chanh tree and, to a lesser extent, after a guy named Chanh. If you ask which one of the three I think is the right one, I would say that all of the three have the same weight more or less. Here is my reason:
1. naming the city after a guy named Chanh. Maybe, after all, people believed that he was a Phoumiboun (the blessed one). Moreover, since he was wealthy by trading, naming a city after its big supporter was a tradition practiced widely in the past.
2. Naming the city after the Chanh tree planted by the Rishies. Very likely, since the Lao strongly believed in the magical power of the ascetic wise men. Remember that the Lao were animist before they were converted to Buddhism. Given that animistic root, it was highly conceivable that the city was named after the Chanh tree planted by the Rishies.
3. Naming the city after the moon. Here, given that the Lao were artistically inclined people so it was plausible to incorporate a moon into the naming of the city. After all, the moon gave not only the light but beauty too. There were countless of sayings attributed the moon to the beauty in the Lao literature. One of the examples is: when a young man says to a young woman that your face is white like a moon. That means she is so beautiful, and therefore, he loves her and wants her to be his very much. What is fascinating is that the Lao Issara flag as the well as the current Lao flag has a moon on it. Is this a coincidence? Once you know more about the history of Meuang Vientiane - the seat of Lao greatness and defiance, you will understand that this flag is more than a flag but an embodiment of Lao spirit since the days immemorial.
More about the history of Vientiane, its magic and enigma later…
Until that time…
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 16
Sabaydii,
Since I have already mentioned about DonChanh, let me complete any stories relating to it. There are two well-known songs that capture what DonChanh is all about. The first one is a song by the songwriter/singer Somsanith. It was called 'HakNeuaKhomMith' (love beyond the blade of the knife). As you can see, just by the name of the song, it rings some kind of eerie to the ears. In fact, when you listen to the song, it gave you all the goose bumps that you will never forget. That was what happened to me. I remember that I first heard this song in the sixties and its lyrics was still very much with me even now. The lyrics go like this:
That night I still remember
The blade of the knife
Deep into my chest
…
(then the part I remember the most)
Ouat NaThi Penh PhaPuNon
using the water or current as a piece of cloth to lie on
Suan Monh NunhKheu HathSai DokKeo
As for the pillow is the beach
Ouath Fang MaeChanh
Using the bank of DonChanh as
Ouath Fa Penh SengVowVaew Thaen SengChanh
Using the light of the stars as the light
****
it was said that Ai Somsanith composed this song to let his girlfriend know that because of his love of her, he was almost killed. In fact, the person who hired the culprit was either the father or brother of his girlfriend. Whoever he might be, he was a man of high rank either in the military or in the police force. At that time, if you didn’t like anybody or were disgruntled with a certain person, you could have him or her got rid of and, at the same time, got away with no punishment. This happened when you were in a position of power. Most likely, the person who actually committed the atrocity was hired from Thailand. Once he executed his plan, what he needed to do was just crossing the Mekong River and never been seen again. For those who know about DonChanh, besides being a strolling place for lovers, it was used to smuggle goods in and out of Laos. Moreover, it was also used as a place to kill off your opponent and then let the current carry the corpse away. I think that you should know about the typography of DonChanh too otherwise you won't get a feel of the place. DonChanh in a dry season was covered with plants - big and tall plants for the most part. Once you were in the thick of the plants, no one would see you and, therefore, it became a perfect place to conduct an illegal activities including crime. I, myself, wouldn't get close to DonChanh once the sun completely set in. I guess if anyone wanted to do so, he or she would lose not only her belongings but her life as well. Yes, that was DonChanh - a fascinating place to see and stroll along the river but, at the same time, menace was lurking everywhere especially during the night.
There is another song that mentioned about DonChanh not by name but by implication. It was a song by Ai Voradeth Ditthavong called something like 'HathSai NyamLeng' (the beach at dusk). This song is a typical love song famous at that time. I would say that this song came out in the early seventies and you could hear it virtually every day from the radio station. What made this song so special was a combination of lyrics and music. Simply put, the lyrics tell about a guy who missed his girlfriend whom he used to stroll the beach with. Seeing a number of lovers - hands in hands on the beach intensified his love for her. As for the music, it was new - very much like the western music. In fact, a majority of the band players were not Lao. I think if not for a reversal of fortune for the old regime, Lao music industries would have progressed in leaps and bounds. The period prior to 1973 was at the height of Lao musical artistry. I will have more to say about Lao music in the later installment.
There are two more things I would like to add to DonChanh stories. One is about its soil. To my recollection, it was best to grow MunhPhout. At times, I even saw people grow vegetables namely lettuces over there. Since I was hardly at that tract of DonChanh, I had to reserve my qualification about the quality of the soil. Who knows? Since the land was flooded annually, it must have a fertile soil despite the big chunk of sand especially at the border of the river. Another one is about the curse on Vientiane. It was said that Chao Sikhottabong who once ruled the area around Thakek and ThatPhanom once said before his death at the hand of Vientiane ruler that as long as DonChanh wasn't crumbled to the bottom of the Mekong River, Meuang Vientiane would never recover its golden years. Even if it did, it would be like 'Xang Phab Hu, Ngu Laeb Linh' (like an elephant flapping its ears, and like a serpent sticking out its tongue). By the way, any of these two animals acts are very fast. That means only one thing: Meuang Vientiane will experience a long period of hardship interpersed by a brief period of prosperity. I wonder how this curse holds nowadays and, much more importantly, how the Lao people take in this curse. If you ever talk to the older people who know something of the past, it is very much likely that they will attribute the fate of Meuang Lao to that curse. After all, Meuang Vientiane is Meuang Lao - past or present. Now, if you ask me: what do I think of this curse? I would say that it was more than a bad mouth but something about ourselves as people too. In this case, Meuang Vientiane is Meuang Lao per-se so don't think that it won't apply to you - Lao people of other Meuang. To understand the issue, we need to understand about Chao Sikhottabong and his relationship with the ruler of Meuang Vientiane. First, about Chao Sikhottabong. He was the ruler of Khom or Khmer people in the central Laos when a unified Lao kingdom wasn't born yet. Being a person who was great in the arts of warfare, he was summoned to come and help Meuang Vientiane which, at that time, was invaded by an army of wild elephants. Here, an element of fairy tale crept in the story. I won't say which part is a fact supported by history and which part is a fiction adding up to embellish the story to make it greater than life for some cryptic reasons. Whatever it is, it all adds up to what others see in us and what we, for some reasons, fail to see in ourselves. Now, what do others see in us? Here, others incorporate not only the non Lao but the non LaoLoum as well. To me, what they see in us is: hypocrisy and untrustworthiness. At the same time, because we fail to see our weakness in the lack of courage and of the stamina to stand for what is right, we end up attributing our failure to luck, fate or whatever excuses we can come up with. If I have to carry this further, I would add that as a people we are no less great than other people. More to the point, it has always been our leaders who, for the most part, consistently fail us. To me, as long as our leaders continue to be the way they always are, Meuang Lao will be going nowhere, and so does the cursing of Chao Sikhottabong will keep repeating. At the same token, if we are true to ourselves and do whatever it takes to keep our integrity, curse or not, we will annul it or expunge it from our collective consciousness once and for all.
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 17
Sabaydii,
In this installment, I will talk about the trajectory path of Vientiane: its emergence as a great Meuang and the center of the collective Lao consciousness. First, we need to know about the location of Vientiane then we will understand its significance. Now, if we look at the map, we will see that Vientiane was situated in the fertile plain called the plain of Vientiane of course. Even before Vientiane became the capital of LanXang (the former name of Laos), Vientiane was the hub of commercial activities in this part of the region covering the central part of Adhutthaya (Siam), Korat plateau (Isan region), Central Vietnam and of course the entire LanXang. The Chinese source did mention about the prosperous town called Wiantian in this part of the region centuries before the establishment of LanXang kingdom. Some historians even speculated that it was the people from Vientiane who came to establish the Thai kingdom of Adhutthaya. The RamKamHeng inscription also mentioned that Sukhothai kingdom (another Thai kingdom established in the thirteenth century) boundary extended as far as Vientiane. Apart from the brief mentioning of the city during Chao FaNgum's conquest of LanXang in the fourteenth century, Vientiane was mentioned again during Chao Saysetthathirath's reign in the sixteenth century. This time, Vientiane was named the capital of the thriving and more powerful LanXang. The reasons behind this move from Luangprabang to Vientiane were of the following:
1. Vientiane was more strategically placed than Luangprabang. At that time, the number one rival of LanXang was the resurgent Burma. Given that Vientiane was twice a distance away from Burma than Luangprabang, Vientiane was a reasonable choice.
2. Vientiane was located at the center of the Lao world. Remember that, at that time, the Korat plateau or Isan region was within LanXang jurisdiction. In another word, it was the Lao world politically and culturally.
3. As mentioned at the beginning, Vientiane was at the center of the trade route. Moreover, it was in a position to support itself in terms of supply because of the fertile land. This was apparent when the all powerful Burmese troops invaded LanXang at the times of Chao Saysettha. Twice, the enemy troops were withdrawn from Vientiane because our food supply outlasted those of the enemy. Of course, the guerrilla tactics of Chao Saysettha was also a big factor, not to mention the commanding stature of this great king of LanXang.
4. LanXang and Adhutthaya were on good terms. In another word, the two were like brothers. This brotherly tie was consummated in the construction of That SiSongHak at Loei province.
5. Lastly, LanXang was on the move - very much like the U.S. in the nineteenth century in regards to the frontier. At that time, Lao people began to heavily populate Isan region as well as Champassak region. With the acute need to be in touch with the growing LanXang, a new capital had to be created. Just think if LanXang could maintain its enthusiastic vigor, she wouldn't have suffered the tragic fate at the hands of the Siamese in the eighteenth century.
Now, before that fateful event occurred, what did Vientiane, as a great Meuang, accomplish?
There were two accounts recorded by two Europeans (Van Wustoff and Father Marini) at the times of Chao Souriyavongsa in the seventeenth century. In a nutshell, both records mentioned about the prosperity of the country (Vientiane obviously) with its beautiful palace, golden temples and lively markets. Last but not least, they also mentioned Vientiane as the center of religious learning where monks from the neighboring countries came to study. Should I also add that this period saw the height of Lao arts and literature. One of the Siamese poet who came to Vientiane with the invading army at the time of Chao Anou's reign described Vientiane as a city that was as beautiful, as lively and as rich as Bangkok.
What went wrong then? It is here that we, as a people, have to draw the valuable lessons from. After the reign of Chao Souriyavongsa, LanXang was divided into three petty kingdoms (Vientiane, Luangprabang and Champassak). Of all the three, Vientiane was the most powerful but wasn't strong enough or determined enough to reunite LanXang. In fact, given that no outsider powers interfered with the affairs of LanXang, Vientiane could have easily subjugated the other two separatists. Unfortunately, Siam and Burma wanted to keep LanXang weak and divided so they took every pretext to side with any single one over another. This kind of chess playing was detrimental to the Lao and eventually led to their demise as the independent kingdoms. For the Vientiane case, it was a total destruction. Suffice it to say that since the division of LanXang, the country was on the path of a spiral downhill. First, it was the invasion of Siam in 1778 which initially put Laos under Siamese yoke. Then, with the harsh treatment of the Siamese on the Lao, it finally culminated in a popularly armed uprising against the oppressive Siam by Chao Anou in 1826. I wouldn't say that it was ill prepared and doomed to be crushed but I would say that this heroic act of national salvation was a shining piece of Lao bravery and strong conviction in their rightful cause. With that war came Chao Ratsavong - the legendary Lao warrior of all time, PhaGna Narinh - the ultimate Lao who rather died than switching side, and of course Chao Anou whose entire life was given to one cause: Lao greatness. His defiance to the Siamese is what I am proud to say the pride of Vientiane, of Meuang Lao and of Quon Lao.
Vientiane was sent to the Stone Age after that war and remained a breeding ground for the wild animals until half century later when the French explorers stumbled into its ruins. When the French snatched the eastern bank of the Mekong River from Siam in 1893, Vientiane became an administrative site for the French colonialists. With that, French buildings painted the landscape of Vientiane. In another word, a new Vientiane was a creature of French imperialism. Whatever it may be, to the Lao, Vientiane is the heart and soul of Meuang Lao. That is the fate of Laos completely depending on Vientiane. In another word, if Vientiane goes to hell the whole country will go to hell too. At the same token, if Vientiane is to thrive, the whole country will benefit from its boom.
I would love to write about Vientiane at the time of Lao Issara, about Chao Phetsarath, about Laos after French departure, about the civil war, about the three peace treaties, and about the new regime but since this installment is already overdrawn, I will have to leave it for other installments.
Now, it is time to wrap this one up.
Yes, Vientiane has experienced many changes in its existence. The wily Siamese were gone. The arrogant French had long departed. The Americans? They too had to say 'good bye' prematurely to this little country of ours. Now, for the Vietnamese, their country will soon need them more than we are. When all the uninvited guests have been gone, it will be time to rebuild Laos again. We, Lao people and Vientiane people by intent, have learned our country lessons well enough. It is now or never time for us to get our acts together or the world will leave us in the dust.
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 18
Sabaydii,
Let me talk about Vientiane accent today. In general, this accent was about the middle of the road between the soft spoken accent of Luangprabang or Northern people and the stridently firm accent of Pakse or the Southern people. With that being said, it was natural that Vientiane accent became the 'official' accent of the country. In another word, people if given a choice and the ability to change accordingly would learn to speak with this accent. I, myself, had seen many people from various regions in Laos spoke with this accent when they came to study, work or live in Vientiane. In fact, my wife's sister who was from Pakse spoke with a Vientiane accent at school (that was what my wife told me. Actually, that was what I heard when I talked to her) and a Thai Tay accent at home within her own kind. I would say that partly it was because of the needs to be accepted among the peer and partly it was because of the status symbol this accent was associated with. It was known that when they showed a film, a narrator would speak in a Vientiane accent when portrayed himself in the role PhaEk (as for the role of NangEk, a Luangprabang accent was generally used). At the same time, when a PhuHai (bad guys for both male and female role), a Thai Tay accent was virtually used all the time. As I noticed, this process was automatic in some people namely my wife's sister. At times, she didn't even realize that she switched from one accent to another without a conscious effort. For me, I guess I speak with a Thakek accent with a tint of Vientiane accent. My childhood friends from Savannakhet liked to complain to me that I spoke with a Thakek accent when I moved over there. Wonder what my Thakek friends would say if they heard my accent after a decade of living in Vientiane. My point is: at times, you change your accent unconsciously especially when you are still young and your tongue is flexible enough to adjust itself. Whatever anyone may say, you yourself know deep down in your heart that from where you came and what kind of hope and wishes that place nourishes in you. After all, whatever accent you speak, it is no less beautiful than the one uttered by others - Vientiane accent included. Since this series is about Vientiane, you might conclude that I am in favor of anything Vientiane. In fact, I am not. What I am doing here is to state the obvious and point out the nuance of things. Like the Thai counterpart, which Bangkok accent was called KhaiYa accent since every drug salesmen had to imitate Bangkok accent in their movie narration, Vientiane accent came to occupy that kind of status in Laos. In another word, if you want to sound pleasant, cosmopolitan, and sophisticated; it will be best served that you speak with a Vientiane accent with your countrymen. By the way, I am curious about one thing: why do people in the North have to speak softly (accent, of course) while people in the South speak so loudly that you don't have a hard time to hear even at quite a distance? At the same time, people living in the middle of the country usually speak in the middle of the road accent. This hypothesis was confirmed in both Laos and Thailand. If that is the case everywhere, what if we add part of Southern China to Northern Laos and part of Northern Cambodia to Southern Laos, will this hypothesis still hold? Or will the process be reversed for a while and with time gravitate to its old model?
Now, since I have already mentioned about the movie, let me talk about it in a far more detail. After all, movie or to be exact movie showing was what Vientiane was about. Typically, wherever there was a movie theater, all kinds of activities were spawned there namely the soft drink and Pho (Vietnamese noodle) stalls. Besides, since the movie showing became such an attraction to Vientiane people across all walks of life, it was the place to be for Vientiane people for a variety of reasons. The young wanted to hang out there because it was such a cool place to be. For the not-so-young, it was the place to buy a temporary happiness after a long day at work. For the rich, it was the place to flaunt off their wealth and, at the same time, be in the limelight. As for the really poor, it became their begging place as long as the cops didn't chase them away yet. Whatever the place may become, the one group who benefited the most was the merchants. Here, they made more money than any government officials except of course the corrupt ones. Even today, when the movie theater was bankrupt due to highly availability of videos, those groups of merchants still made money as if the money were poured down from the sky.
Here, I need to make a distinction that, of all the movie theaters (fewer than ten altogether), SengLao/BouaSaVanh and Audience Rama were the indisputable kings of the hill. In fact, since both SengLao and BouaSaVanh were at downtown where a bunch of shops catering to the needs of moviegoers were highly concentrated, these two theaters were THE place to be. Audience Rama, a new addition to the movie theater landscape, just came into existence in the early seventies. What went for this theater was its huge hall encompassing about seven hundreds seats. With that alone, it was the biggest movie theater in the whole country. In addition, the sound system at this theater was incredible. I am sure that if this one was a little bit closer to downtown (by the way, it was less than half a mile away from those two theaters), it would draw away most of the potential moviegoers from those two theaters. Maybe, it is worth noticing that only after a couple of years, the area around Audience Rama was booming to the point that, if left as it was, it stood a chance of surpassing the former area in a couple more years. For those who are not familiar with Vientiane, Audience Rama was at KhouaDinh while SengLao/BouaSaVanh were by Wat OngTeu which was in turn not far from the Mekong River. I would say that, of all the areas in Vientiane, this area was the most active from virtually early morning to late at night. I guess it was here that Vientiane was its best. With that being said, it wouldn't be too much to say that if you came to Vientiane but didn't see this area, it simply meant that you didn't see the real Vientiane pure and simple. In case that I didn't make it apparent enough, here are a few more observations. In the evening, the area was lighted as if it were the daytime. This thing in itself was quite an anomaly in a poor country like Laos. The streets cutting across those two theaters were constantly packed with people and so did the shops/stalls selling noodles, drinks and dessert. In another word, this place was like a mall that showed up its plentiful and good life - a sure sign of modern life. I can't tell you how many people really benefited from this bountiful harvest for money was such a hard thing to come by in a country of ours. What I can tell you is that Vientiane people did have a good time while it was still lasting. Whether this good time was either from a participant point of view or a mere observer one, it did add a new dimension to Vientiane - a proud capital of all Lao.
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Part 19
Sabaydii,
Let me continue about the movie showing and especially the night life of Vientiane. There was one thing peculiar about Vientiane people - in fact, Lao people in general. That was we were enthralled by Indian movies no less than Thai movies. For the latter, it was understandable since we shared most of the characteristics with the Thai people. At times, they didn't even bother to narrate the Thai movie at all. What they did was to let the entire movie be heard in the Thai language. I think that they changed this practice not long before the arrival of the new regime. Thai movie stars were such a big hit that every moviegoer knew their names by heart. Of the earlier day, they were from the Sana SiUbol, Phitsamay Vilaysak and Xayya. Then, of the middle period, they were Mith Saybansa, Phetsara Nyauvarath, Sombath Methani, and Arunya Namvong. Lastly, of the later day, they were Jaruni, Nautvarah and Soraphong. There was one movie which was a big hit at that time. It was MonHak LukThul (the magic of LukThul). Here, you should know LukThul was a Thai country song popular among the country folks of Lao and Thai people. The movie theater that showed that film was SengLao. I would say that the place was packed day and night for quite some time. Though crowd favorite as it was, I didn't see that movie. Maybe, I was broke or, maybe, I just didn't like to follow the herd mentality. In another word, I was kind of a rebel fighting a useless cause. The reason was that part of me was fascinated by anything Thai. After all, they were in a more advanced state than we were. At the same time, I was disgusted with what they did to us in the past. Even at that time, the way they looked down on us made me want to punch them in their face. Wonder if I was born unruly, I might have drawn some blood from them. One of my relatives was married to a Thai guy. Frankly speaking, I didn't even bother to step my foot in her house even once except of course when my great grandmother had passed away and the funeral was held there so I had to involuntarily take part in that occasion. By the way, of the many Thai movies I watched, one stood out. It was Ku BaneNok (a country teacher). This film made me connect intellectually and emotionally with the leftist Thai. With that, I came to know of Caravan - a leftist band that greatly satisfied my taste for music. Even today, I am still a big fan of Caravan. Their music strikes the chord of common brotherhood, of fighting for justice and of yearning for a better life. With time, I came to hate not of all Thai but some Thai who still live in the Stone Age.
Now, let me talk about Indian movies. As I stated above, Vientiane people were in love with Indian movies. Curious to say that this phenomenon wasn't shared by the Thai - a close kin of the Lao at all. I would say that everyone in my family except maybe my father and, to a lesser extent, me. The main reason that we didn't like Indian movies that much was because of its simplistic plot plus the untimely singing and dancing which seemed to come up at any time of the show. Most of the time, you know before hand about how the movie was going to end so don't bother yourself to anticipate an unexpected ending at all. Besides, the typical plot was that a poor man was in love with a rich woman, and at the end, won her heart. Or, another likely plot was that virtue namely honesty would always prevail in any circumstances. What disturbed me about Indian movies was that the rich were fabulously rich while the poor were very much like a piece of rag. Even so, virtually no Indian movies seriously challenged that status quo. That really pissed me off. In another word, it was like sending a message that everything was okay while it was obviously not. Moreover, the ironic thing was that all the PhaEk and NangEk were so gorgeous looking (of course fair skin too) while all the Indian I saw in real life were like they just came out of the stove. In another word, they were as black as the charcoal. In fact, a majority of Indian had a dark skin and, of those, a big proportion was destitute. That means only one thing: what you see in the film doesn't represent India but a distorted view of reality. My verdict was that what a way to intoxicate a mass of people. No wonder there was hardly any Indian movies that win any kind of an international recognition. Before I move on, I would like to mention that there are two Indian movies that were worth mentioning here. One was about friendship. Too bad I didn't remember the title of the film. I saw this one by pure luck. Telling you the truth, I didn't like to watch a black and white film if given a choice. Since this film was without color, I didn't have an inkling to see it at all. In fact, if it weren't for my relatives who dragged me to the movie theater, I would have missed that touching movie. Still, know what I did at the start of the movie? I didn't pay any attention to it. Thought that it was going to be a waste of my time. Soon, when the story unfolded before my eyes, I began to realize that this was the movie of my life. Too bad that I didn't remember much of it but what got imprinted in my mind was that, apart from love, friendship was the most important element in human relationship. The way that the movie portrayed the friendship of two poor young men to the point of sacrificing what one had for another did bring tears to my eyes. There was another Indian movie which I saw at a later date. This one was entitled 'Salaam Bombay'. I would say that it was a great movie - a novel thing for an Indian movie. I am sure some of the movie stores in the U.S. still has a copy of it since I recently saw one at Hollywood movie store. In general, the story is about a street urchin who tries to make a living in one of the many slums in Bombay. I guess if you want to see the best of Indian movie films, do check out this movie.
Lastly, it is time to |
